Nutrient Neutrality in the Eden Catchment

Areas within the River Eden catchment are affected by  Nutrient Neutrality 

due to excess phosphorus levels in the River Eden designated site. This region includes the following Local Planning Authorities (LPAs):

• Eden LPA
• Northumberland National Park LPA
• Northumberland LPA
• Allerdale LPA
• Lake District National Park LPA
• Carlisle LPA
• County Durham LPA
• Yorkshire Dales National Park LPA

The affected areas in the Eden catchment cover towns of Carlisle, Penrith and Brampton.

A detailed map of the area is shown below, and we also have mapped all the areas in England and Wales impacted by Nutrient Neutrality.

We would characterise the mitigation market in the catchment as very weak due to limited supply of phosphorus credits. Mitigation is being priced on a per house basis, with the cost of nutrient credits generally being quite high. Typically these are in the region of £5,000 to £7,000 per house. 

The area has a variety of levels of nutrient stripping technology at the wastewater treatment works for phosphorus. New houses currently require between 0.1 kg to 0.89 kg of phosphorus mitigation per house. This creates significant opportunities for landowners looking at mitigation schemes.  

We forecast demand outstripping supply for at least the next 2 years, despite new schemes coming online (see below).